Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Eluka also heard some weird sounds.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The noise grew closer and clearer—like a heartbeat pounding in a battle drum.
“Heartbeat…”
Eluka’s pupils shrank dramatically.
Her hearing was far beyond normal, even better than Rod, who was a warrior.
But this was on a stormy lake surface.
The heartbeat she could hear so well must be mighty—and terrifyingly huge.
And just how titanic was its owner?
“Uh-oh…”
“Run away now!”
Eluka shouted hoarsely at Rod and Tia, who were standing on the Lake Master’s corpse:
“Be careful…!”
But her last word was swallowed by a wave-breaking explosion.
In the blink of an eye, the water vapor covering the lake was torn open—a giant black fish leapt out of the water. Its furious red eyes glowed with rage, and its gleaming scales and spines crackled with dazzling lightning.
“Lake Master…”
“Another one…”
“How is this even possible…”
Rod and Tia stared wide-eyed at that even larger black fish monster rearing in front of them.
But there was no time for hesitation.
Rod gripped his longsword tightly, swirling battle aura around him, and then. Lion’s Roar!—sending out a shockwave visible to the naked eye, he charged at the beast ferociously.
There was no escape—being in the lake meant facing it head-on!
The shockwave and lightning clashed, whipping up monstrous waves on the lake surface!
“Damn… this thing is incredible…”
Rod was pushed back step by step beneath the beast’s crushing might, blood spewing from the corner of his mouth.
Even after just a brief clash, Rod was clearly at a disadvantage.
After all, he’d been ambushed—and not just by any monster, but a nearly thirty-meter-long giant fish!
“I’ll help you!”
Luckily, Tia wasn’t just a pretty vase—she was a legit third-stage magician.
“Burn, Crimson Flame Magic!”
A rapid-cast spell without an incantation—an enormous fiery pillar hurtled toward the unguarded Lake Master.
If it hit, it might not kill but definitely force it back.
But…
In those inhuman eyes above the water, a sneering glint flashed.
As Tia watched in horror, it suddenly lifted its broad tail and slapped the water with a mighty sweep!
Mahousive waves surged up, like a barrier blocking all hope, crashing headlong into the fiery pillar.
Shh.
The intense heat evaporated the lake water; as the flames died out, huge plumes of steam rose—visibility plummeted as if shrouded in morning fog.
The new Lake Master sank back into the lake, vanishing once more.
“Just now, I really should have just said—don’t use fire magic in this environment!”
Moreover, Eluka, floating safely above the corpse of the Lake Master, waved her wind magic to disperse the fog and couldn’t help but say:
“This only makes things more complicated for us!”
“You… shut your mouth,”
Tia shot back snappily:
“Who knows what magic I used at that dangerous moment, huh?”
“Using fire magic on the lake surface is itself a problem, you know.”
“But wasn’t it my fire magic that took down the previous Lake Master? Besides, Eluka didn’t do anything—what right do you have to criticize me?”
“I was just pointing out—”
“I’m not wrong!”
“Enough, everyone, shut up,”
Rod cut in, trying to play peacemaker, though his tone was more like smoothing over a quarrel:
“Keep some energy—you’re still fighting.”
Tia snorted.
“Since Rod’s here, I won’t bother arguing with this bumpkin.”
“Bumpkin…”
Click.
That was Eluka’s second day nearly snapping her magic wand in half.
Just because she looked a little better, had bigger boobs, and was slightly cuter, she thought she could call herself a bumpkin?
Did she not realize that the rod-obsessed guy she’s all tangled up with is from the same village as “bumpkin”?
“Honestly, I shouldn’t have let her join our team from the start…”
If it weren’t for Rod working so hard, maybe she wouldn’t get disturbed if someone came crashing into their little peaceful world.
…
So annoying.
…
But even in battle, and as a sweet and innocent girl, she couldn’t go all-out on her temper just yet.
Eluka reined in her thoughts and refocused on locating the Lake Master.
“Due to territorial instincts, two monarch-level monsters can’t stay together.”
“Unless… they’re a pair, a male and a female.”
Eluka looked down at Rod’s feet where the Lake Master’s corpse lay.
Most monsters’ females tend to be much larger than males—size equals strength.
“The wisdom of monarch-level monsters isn’t low. What do you think they’d do now?”
Eluka kept pondering, eyes gradually fixating on the corpse.
Rod was still standing on it, because, for a warrior, being grounded was always better than floating in the air to maximize strength.
“What if I were them?”
Eluka thought this, then suddenly—her eyes widened.
If she were the Lake Master, right now she’d be…
“Rod!”
“Tia!”
“Don’t move!”
Three years of adventuring had taught Eluka to move faster than she could think.
So when she snapped back to her senses, her magic wand was already swinging, casting back-to-back floating spells on Rod and Tia.
“Huh? Hey? What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Her floating magic felt totally different from the floating spells she’d cast herself—like being lifted suddenly, which was quite unnerving.
Tia thought Eluka was retaliating for her, and she immediately wanted to tattle to Rod.
But, in the next moment, that urge was swallowed back—because she saw the huge Lake Master corpse they’d been standing on suddenly sink!
It sank so fast that waves stirred up nearly knocked them out of the air!
As suspected, its first move was to reclaim its mate’s body—how could it tolerate a human stepping all over its partner?
And then, the second thing it did was…
The turbulent waves calmed instantly, as if a mirror had appeared, reflecting dark clouds and Rod and Eluka.
Then, ripples spread out, forming a swirling vortex.
As if an invisible hand stirred the lake surface.
In the eye of the vortex, the Lake Master’s head peeked out.
Blinding lightning gathered on its menacing horn.
With furious gaze fixed on the two humans who just stepped on its partner.
“Just as I thought—its next move will be to attack with everything, to avenge its mate.”
But…
Staring at the curling lightning on its horn, Eluka muttered in shock:
“Ranged attack?”
